I Am of Ireland
Ardmore Pottery espresso cup
I love using handcrafted things in the kitchen. This espresso cup is a piece of Ardmore Pottery, a souvenir that I couldn’t resist buying after we had a Very Lovely Lunch at the Cliff House Hotel during the summer. I love its sea-green colour, how the curves fit to my hand and the fact that it is the perfect size for the richest of afternoon hot chocolates.
A friend of mine has just launched a new Irish craft website called www.iamofireland.ie. I first met Emma when the Husband, myself and Little Missy stayed nearby at Newtown House, an elegant and relaxing guesthouse run by her parents, Georgie and Michael Penruddock. While eating a fabulous breakfast which included homegrown tomatoes, autumn raspberries and spicy myrtle berries, all gathered from the courtyard outside, and getting tips for house refurbishment, Georgie mentioned that her daughter, like us, lived in a cottage and kept chickens.
Encouraged by Georgie, we visited Emma, her three children – LM was in heaven – and her husband in their cottage that day and have subsequently enjoyed several Sunday lunches at each other’s homes. The last time I saw Emma she was telling me about her plan for starting an Irish craft website and now www.iamofireland.ie is online.
Nicholas Mosse pottery. Photo from I Am of Ireland
She stocks the kind of thing that is satisfying to use every day: Ardmore Pottery oven dishes make an appearance, there are fantastic jugs from Andrew Ludick and especially tempting are the kind of mugs that you would want to wrap your hands around on a cold winter morning.
If you’re thinking of buying Irish Christmas presents, take a good look around the site. Little Missy’s already got her eye on some child-sized pottery from Marianne Klopp and Nicholas Mosse.
What a lovely lovely website. I might just have to do a bit of Christmas shopping on this one. Thanks for sharing and hope all is well with the small one and little missy. Really enjoyed the sunburnt red last weekend with the spicy mexican food. Really really a fab beer.
It does look like a gorgeous site to get Christmas presents! Emma did say that, due to the handmade nature of the things that she sells, it’s a good idea to order early.
All going well at the cottage, apart from the fact that Little Missy seems to have suddenly realised that the Small Girl is here to stay. Not too impressed with that!
Sounds like you had a ball at Oldfarm. Must make Lily’s pork dish and try it out with the Sunburnt Red here on one of the nights I have both Eight Degrees boys around.
So much temptation! I really don’t need another jug and sugarbowl, but those Ardmore ones are just so pretty, and I missed visiting them last week, so…
Cups and mugs always do it for me. I can always justify another one! The Ardmore Pottery cup is so fine that I didn’t think it would last long here – toddler plus tiles plus Belfast sink often have a detrimental effect on my crockery – but it’s surprisingly strong. And the colour always makes me think of the sea just below the Cliff House.